The Bet
by TortoiseNHare64
Summary: "How about a bet?" Lance turned and gave Keith a questioning glance. The red paladin grinned as he continued, "If you can get Shiro to remove every piece of that tux publically, I'll bind you with Shiro's tie later in bed." Lance's brain completely shut down for way longer than he would care to admit before he was instantly walking briskly away from Keith. "You're on."


**Author's Note: Hey everyone! This is my first Voltron fic and is cross-posted on ao3 under my ao3 account swankyturnip. Thank you for reading it!**

It was a formal event based on diplomacy. Representatives of several of the most prominent races were there to sign peace treaties, agree to collectively fight the Galra Empire, and show off their wealth and social status.

Lance was bored as hell.

Standing off in the corner awkwardly tugging on the navy tie around his neck, Lance wished he had some kind of entertainment. None of the aliens gathered were even remotely hot enough to hit on even for passing kicks and Keith hadn't arrived yet. Hunk and Shale were being cute in an opposite corner of the ballroom while Pidge remained glued to the buffet table, surfing their tablet and occasionally sneaking a purple tart. Shiro and Allura were of course working the room like they were made to socialize and mingle with the upper class douchebags of the galaxy.

Lance sighed and considered simply ditching the event and heading back to his room when a movement to his left caught his eye.

Keith had entered the room. Granted, he had more or less snuck into the room than try to make some elegant entrance like Allura did, but the sight of him was enough to make Lance stare. The red paladin wore a simple, all-black suit with his hair neatly pulled back into a ponytail. Lance had seen him get dressed up several times before for formal events like this, but what struck him this time was the tie Keith was wearing.

It was a bright red with silver embroidery around the edges.

It wasn't Keith's.

It was _Shiro's_.

Lance knew for a fact that the tie Keith sported so beautifully belonged to their leader because he had seen Shiro wear it for Allura's last birthday celebration. The same birthday celebration during which Keith had officially asked him out on a space date for the first time.

Lance felt his breath slightly catch in his throat as Keith immediately spotted him and started…holy quiznak was Keith _sauntering_ towards him?

"Hey," Keith greeted as he leaned against the wall facing Lance.

"You're wearing Shiro's tie," Lance blurted out, all suave greetings instantly fleeing his mind.

Keith quirked an eyebrow and smirked. "Yeah, I was tired of the ones I have. Shiro recommended this one because he figured it would be a nice nod to my paladin color. Since this event is in part recognizing our status as Galra ass-kickers." Keith leaned his back against as the wall as he surveyed the room. "You like it?"

"I want to rip it off you," Lance whispered huskily, the slight change in his voice making Keith's face take on a light blush.

"That can be arranged," Keith replied, never taking his eyes off the crowd. "You up for some excitement?"

"If we skip out, Allura will fucking kill us," Lance pointed out as he huffed and mirrored Keith's pose. He noticed that the glamorous woman in question was now engaged in a heated conversation between Shiro, Coran, and three ambassadors.

"How about a bet?" Lance turned and gave Keith a questioning glance. The red paladin grinned as he continued, "If you can get Shiro to remove every piece of that tux publically, I'll bind you with Shiro's tie later in bed."

Lance's brain completely shut down for way longer than he would care to admit before he was instantly walking briskly away from Keith.

"You're on," he called back with a glint in his eye.

XXXXX

Poor, innocent, unsuspecting Shiro was trying his hardest to impress the other diplomats gathered. He knew the importance of the treaties and was truly appreciative of all the various races who showed up to pledge their assistance in ending the Galra Empire. However, some of the races were still skeptical about Voltron's prowess and doubted the abilities of his fellow paladins. Being the leader, Shiro recognized the dire need for him to step up to the plate and try to impress as many people as possible.

Therefore, he was completely horrified on the inside when he heard a cry from behind him and then a split-second later he was covered in fruit punch.

"Aw fuck, I'm so sorry Shiro! It was a complete accident!" Lance cried out as he looked up from the floor. The bowl of punch Lance had been carrying lay a few feet away from them with all of its contents dripping down Shiro's back, leaving a sticky trail down the back of Shiro's tux.

Shiro quickly eyed the ambassadors he had been talking to but thankfully saw that they were giving him looks of sympathy and not disgust. Allura was no help as she hid a smile behind her hand with a slight cough.

"It's okay, Lance. No harm done. Are you okay?" Shiro asked as he held out a hand to help Lance up from where he had tripped.

"Yeah I'm okay, but aw man you're tux is _ruined_! You should take off the jacket before that stuff seeps through."

Shiro examined his jacket over his shoulder and gave a small huff of annoyance. He supposed Lance was right. If the punch got through to his shirt and undershirt then he would start to smell like rotten fruit. He glanced at Allura and saw her give a small shrug. Hopefully the other ambassadors wouldn't be embarrassed.

"I guess you're right. Can you take my jacket and hang it on a chair somewhere Lance?"

"Not a problem, boss!" Lance chirped as he happily took Shiro's jacket and began moving away. "Sorry again about the accident!"

XXXXX

Keith rolled his eyes as Lance all but skipped up to his side.

"So you got off his jacket, big deal. Gotta step up your game."

"I'm working on it," Lance hissed back, missing the smile on Keith's face as the blue paladin stalked back off to complete his mission.

A few minutes later Keith turned as he saw Pidge approaching him.

"What is Lance doing?"

The blue paladin in question was stalking around Shiro in wide circles, trying to assert his best angle of attack while not being noticed.

"What do you mean?"

"Cut the shit, Keith. I know something's up and I want to know what it is."

"Lance and I have a…bet."

"Oh no, this isn't some disgusting foreplay act again is it? The _situation_ in the kitchen that one time was bad enough –"

"No, nothing like that! Well…not really. Lance has to remove all of Shiro's clothing."

"…Why?"

Keith gave a shrug. "Because Shiro's been way too uptight over this event and all he really needs is for the ambassadors to be blown away by how hot he is and they'll be too stunned to talk to him."

"He is pretty hot," Pidge reluctantly agreed after a bit. "But why are you making Lance do this? Isn't it weird for you guys?"

"Nah, besides I've got something much better in store for Lance if he succeeds than simply seeing Shiro naked."

"Eww, that's disgusting! Please just shut up," Pidge proclaimed as they pulled out their tablet. "I bet you all of the candy in Hunk's secret drawer in his room that Lance will fail."

"Deal."

XXXXX

Shiro had rolled up the sleeves of his white button-up to hug his biceps and so far had not gotten any grief from any of the diplomats for not being dressed to his best. Allura had assured him that he looked wonderful and not to worry but that didn't stop Shiro. He increased his smile size, laughed at things that weren't that funny, and even leaned into the conversation just to increase his chances of being liked. This was way too much work. He wasn't used to playing the diplomatic game like Allura was.

When the conversation ended, and Allura went to pull him by the arm away to converse with another group, Shiro moved too quickly and felt his right leg get snagged on something. Common sense should have told Shiro to pause and examine what was caught on his leg, but he was so eager to get the diplomatic talks over with that he pulled his leg too roughly and stared in horror as a giant slit was torn right down the side of his leg.

His pants were ruined.

Beside him, Lance heard Allura emit a small gasp as he leaned down to inspect the tear. A long piece of really thin fabric was stuck to his pant leg by a spiky jewel. Shiro gently threaded the fabric through his fingers and followed the trail with his eyes. At the other end, he realized the fabric was attached to one of the tablecloths covering the buffet table. Each corner of the tablecloth had a spiky jewel that hung down. Somehow, Shiro had gotten one of these jewels hooked on the pocket of his pants, and as he moved away, the tablecloth had come slightly unraveled until the pressure pulled on the jewel and tore it down his pant leg.

"Oh Shiro, this is terrible! You can't possibly talk to the guests looking like this!" Allura cried as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "Can't you go change?"

"This is the only pair of formal pants I have," Shiro whispered. "I can tailor them but that would take time and we don't have that kind of time right now. I'm the team leader, I need to lead the team through these talks."

Shiro figured he would rather fight Zarkon right now than deal with this.

XXXXX

"You're one sick bastard, you know that?"

Lance laughed to himself at Keith's words as he returned to his boyfriend's side.

"It worked, didn't it?"

"There's no way Shiro can do anything _but_ take off his pants," Keith agreed as the two watched their leader in distress.

Somehow Lance never expected Shiro to take off his pants. The situation wasn't _that_ dire in Lance's opinion and the eye of every ambassador was on Shiro at that moment. All Shiro would have to do was laugh off the situation and so would all of the diplomats in Lance's opinion.

That wasn't what happened.

Lance and Keith watched in shock as slowly the ambassadors turned to one another and started whispering. And it wasn't the kind of secret joke-telling kind of whispering that Keith and Lance did all the time. This was clearly the type of whispering _about_ their leader in a negative way. Some of the ambassadors even turned _away_ from Shiro in disgust!

"It's just a ripped tux, why are they all so offended?" Keith asked.

"Maybe they're all suffering from second-hand embarrassment?"

"You two are idiots," Pidge said suddenly, making the other two jump in surprise.

"Pidge, how long were you standing there?"

"Long enough. Several of the cultures here firmly believe that ripped clothing represents a deep resentment toward the notion of peace. I researched it when Keith told me about the bet and it turns out that tearing apart formal attire represents someone's desire to wage war and is often associated with acts of violence."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Lance groaned as he slumped against the wall.

"Nope. By ripping Shiro's pants you made him declare himself as an enemy of the people."

"I can't believe so many different cultures share the same ridiculous belief."

"What are we going to do?" Lance cried almost hysterically as he gripped Keith's shoulders.

"Me? Why are you involving me in this? You're the one who ripped his pants! I just wanted him to relax!" Keith hissed as he ripped himself away from Lance.

"Guys, look," Pidge muttered as they pointed.

Keith and Lance looked simultaneously in shock as Shiro deftly unbuttoned his pants with his metal hand and tugged down his pants.

There the black paladin stood in nothing but a pair of silk, black boxers and his white button-up.

XXXXX

As soon as Coran saw the tear in Shiro's pants, he quickly explained the cultural significance of ripped clothing to Allura and Shiro. Shiro, therefore, had no better alternative than to remove the disgraced article of clothing. For a brief second Shiro was afraid to see how the ambassadors reacted but remarkably the whispers ceased and a few of the diplomats even resumed normal conversations with one another. It was like nothing had even happened. Granted, a few of the diplomats stared almost hungrily at Shiro and his muscles, but nobody was offended any longer.

"This is the worst night of my life," Shiro sighed as he awkwardly held his pants in front of his crotch.

"You have to remember that many cultures do not share the same view of nudity as humans generally do," Coran gently pointed out. "While you may feel embarrassed for standing in the middle of a crowded room in your underwear, your current attire does not warrant embarrassment from any of the other races here."

"You still look wonderful, Shiro," Allura assured. "Come, let us mingle with the others to solidify our status."

XXXXX

As the trio watched Shiro, Allura, and Coran move across the room and begin talking with another small cluster of diplomats, both Lance and Keith felt their mouths go dry.

"I…I can't believe…"

"…Yeah…"

"He just…took off his pants…"

"…Yeah…"

"Oh will you two get your jaws off the floor? The bet isn't finished yet, you know," Pidge reminded them.

"How can you be so calm? Do you _see_ his ass? Look at that thing!" Lance exclaimed, pointing with both of his arms at Shiro. "He's made of pure marble."

"Mmm," Keith agreed as he eyed up the buttocks in question.

Pidge rolled their eyes. "We're only here for about fifteen more minutes. After that the event officially ends and you'll have lost the bet, Lance."

The time restraint made Lance snap to attention.

"Right, see you later. I have a mission to complete."

XXXXX

Lance only had three articles of clothing left, not counting Shiro's black tie. The white button-up shirt, the boxers, and the white undershirt. He could "spill" something else on the whites to ruin them but he didn't want to look like even more of a klutz in front of his hero. The boxers were certainly the biggest issue he had to deal with. As Lance leaned against the buffet table and contemplated his choices, he watched Shiro and Coran discussing politics.

He didn't notice Allura had snuck up behind him until it was too late.

"Seems weird to me how every _accident_ that has happened tonight has involved Shiro, hmm?"

Lance jumped in the air and let out a small yelp as he turned around to face the inquisitive princess. Lance took a breath and controlled into his face into a calm expression as he replied, "Maybe it's just not his night."

Allura slowly moved around the table, never taking her eyes off of Lance, like a cat stalking its prey.

"Why are you doing this, Lance? I know you stuck that jewel to his pants."

"Who, me? What are you talking about, princess?"

Allura grabbed him by the tie and pulled him a hair's breath away from her face.

"There are security cameras in this room. I had Coran hack them and rewind everything on his tablet. I _saw you_."

Lance gulped before saying, "W-we, I mean, it was a bet! We never meant to risk negotiations. We thought Shiro was taking this whole thing way too seriously and needed to realize it isn't that big of a deal."

"For your information, you little weasel, this event is _incredibly_ important and a _huge_ deal. Not just for the future of Voltron but for the peace of the galaxy. And when this is all over, you and I and whoever else is involved are going to have a _long_ conversation about just how _important_ this is."

Lance didn't want to admit that the venomous tone in Allura's voice would have simultaneously scared him shitless and turned him so on he would have popped a boner in the past.

"G-got it."

Allura released her icy grip and regarded him thoughtfully.

"What did you hope to accomplish with all of this?"

Lance sighed. "The bet was that if I could get Shiro to take off all of his clothing and have the ambassadors see how hot and beefy the leader of Voltron was, then Keith would…reward me. As long as the ambassadors were so thoroughly impressed with Shiro's physique that they backed off."

"Hmm," Allura considered the not-so-subtle ambassadors who were in fact eyeing up Shiro. "What happens if you lose the bet?"

"I-I don't know. Keith didn't tell me. I guess we don't get to use the tie he borrowed from Shiro for sexy times."

Allura probably would have rolled her eyes at that had she not already been thinking way ahead of Lance.

"I want in on the bet."

"You – you what?"

"If you lose, you and Keith have to do all of the chores on the ship for three months."

"Deal! But wait, why do you think I'm going to lose?"

"Because Shiro's going to take off all of his clothes for me and not you," Allura smirked as she flicked her long hair over her shoulder and gave Lance a wink before moving back to Shiro.

"Holy shit."

XXXXX

When Allura reached Shiro, she slid a hand down his back and rested it on his hip. Shiro raised his eyebrow but said nothing as she turned her seemingly innocent eyes at him. Slowly Allura twirled her body so that she was standing in front of Shiro with one hand on his hip and the other on his shoulder. From a distance, Keith, Pidge, and Lance stared in awe as Allura undid the top button of Shiro's shirt with one hand.

"Allura?" Shiro asked, a slight edge to his voice.

Allura said nothing as she undid the second button, then the third, and then the fourth.

Shiro's hands paused her actions on the fifth button and he repeated her name questioningly.

"Lance and Keith and probably Pidge have been trying to get you to relax all evening," she whispered, letting her voice take on a seductive tone. "However, they have been failing miserably and haven't accomplished anything because they don't know how to relax you." She moved her hands under Shiro's and undid the fifth button. "I do."

"We're surrounded by people and you want to seduce me _now_?" Shiro asked incredulously.

"The party ends in ten minutes. Some of the ambassadors have already begun leaving. The only ones who still remain do so because they admire you. The treaties have been signed and impressions have already been made. Why not solidify things by letting them see how incredibly sexy the black paladin is?"

In one quick motion, Allura finished off the rest of the buttons and tore off Shiro's button-up.

Indeed, it was no surprise that a gasp rippled across the ballroom as both paladins and ambassadors admired Shiro's incredible physique. Shiro gawked and tried to cover up but Allura's alien speed proved better as she used her form-changing abilities to grow a few inches higher than Shiro and rip off his undershirt as well.

There Shiro stood in his boxers and nothing else.

"Allura, this is madness! I can't believe you're displaying me like some sex symbol for these people!" Shiro hissed out as he reached for his shirts which were quickly hidden behind Allura's back.

"Shiro, look."

The calmness in Allura's voice caught him off guard and Shiro quickly whipped his head to look around the room.

Every eye was on him and every mouth was watering.

Shiro watched as a few of the strongest opponents to the alliance smiled and gave him tiny bows of acknowledgement.

"I…I can't believe that I'm winning people over by being naked," Shiro whispered in complete awe. "I thought that there was so much more to it. I thought I needed to prove my leadership capabilities or sweet-talk. But all I needed to do was…look hot? That seems so…superficial."

"Aliens are superficial too, honey," Allura replied as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Let's go back to the ship and get you relaxed."

"This was still a terrible night," Shiro complained as he began to move away.

"Wait, one more thing!"

"What could possibly be left for –"

Shiro was cut off as Allura grabbed the waistband of his boxers and yanked them down.

XXXXX

When they were back on the ship, Lance sat on Keith's bed still in amazement.

"I can't believe she did it. I can't believe she beat me."

Keith pulled the knot of his tie free and let the fabric slip down his chest and fall into his hands. Slowly he held out the tie to Lance and put his own wrists against the fabric.

"You can tie me up tonight, Lance. That's your punishment."

Lance was never more aroused by a punishment before.


End file.
